The lead negotiator and facilitator of the release of the seven kidnapped passengers of the Abuja-Kaduna train, Malam Tukur Mamu (Dan-Iyan Fika) has confirmed to LEADERSHIP that he has reunited all the seven kidnap victims with their respective families on Saturday after their release from captivity.
Mamu said that efforts by the military authorities to take over the kidnap victims after their release were resisted by the victims on arrival in Kaduna, hence they were handed over to him for onward delivery to their families.
They accused government of putting their lives in danger and unnecessarily delaying their release, hence they insisted on getting to their families immediately to be able to have urgent medical attention in view of their health conditions.
Mamu, who is the publisher of Desert Herald newspaper and media consultant to Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Gumi, however, added that after retrieving the victims from the terrorist group, soldiers provided security cover for them up to Kaduna.
Speaking on the development, one of the kidnap victims, Sadiq Ango Abdullahi, said: “The soldiers were considerable enough to hand us over to Tukur Mamu after we insisted that we will not go with them. The most difficult job has been done by him Alhamdulillah.
“We were all taken to his office and even before then he has contacted all our family members to come and pick us. I can confirm to you that this man did this thing alone because even our family members were taken by surprise, they least expected the rescue.”
Sadiq, who is a son to a former vice chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and one-time Minister of Agriculture, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, was speaking in tears while appreciating the negotiator Mamu.
He also urged the federal government to intensify efforts to ensure that the remaining passengers were rescued as soon as possible because of their deteriorating medical condition.
It was an emotional moment as anxious family members could not hold back their tears on seeing their loved ones back in one piece.
It was also a mixed reactions and from families of other victims that were expecting to see their loved ones back but were disappointed and demoralised when they discovered that they were not part of those freed.
While speaking with LEADERSHIP on telephone on Sunday morning to confirm the developments, Mamu also apologised for not featuring on a LEADERSHIP Online TV programme on Thursday, ‘The Big Issue’, saying the opportunity to rescue the the seven kidnap victims suddenly surfaced at about the same time the live programme was slated commence.
Meanwhile, Mamu has also disclosed that the governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, did so much behind the scenes to ensure the success of his Saturday’s mission.
“Sincerely, I have so much respect for Governor Buni. From the information I have, there is no single Yobe citizen left in that forest because that governor demonstrated uncommon concern on this issue. He has been in touch with me throughout, monitoring developments and even reaching out to those concerned whenever there was the need to do so.
“He gave lots of support. This is a governor from the North-East, far from the North-West where we have this crisis. He told me not to publicise his efforts but I have to,” Mamu stated.
